This invention has particular application to wheels having a deep center well, requiring the lug wrench to have a substantial length between the end that engages the lug nut at the bottom of the well, and the torquing lever located outside the well. Such wheels are a common occurance in dual wheel mountings such as used on large tractor-trailer rigs. The outside wheel in such a dual wheel mounting arrangement typically has a deep well so as to enable the wheel to be mounted to the hub of the inside wheel.
When it is necessary to remove the outside wheel e.g. when the tire of the outside wheel has gone flat, the driver of the rig is faced with the problem of either changing the tire himself with the manual lug wrench, or calling for help. Contrary to what might be believed, the latter choice is often made because of the difficulty in removing the lug nuts of these outside wheels. Typically, the lever for the lug wrench has to be applied to the shaft of the wrench at a distance of some 12 to 15 inches from the nut engaging end of the wrench. With the only support for the wrench being the nut at one end and the driver's hands at the other, coupled with the need to apply considerable torquing force to loosen the nut, it is difficult and often impossible to keep the wrench from slipping off the nut. Many drivers have received injuries while attempting to accomplish the task of loosening the nut under these conditions, and thus experience dictates that the wiser course is to simply call for help.
The idea of providing a support for the shaft of the wrench was apparently considered prior to the present invention, although no direct knowledge of such a tool is known to the inventor. Presumably an up-right support member was itself supported in a base member designed to rest on the ground along side of the wheel. Notches in the up-right member were designed to provide vertical support for the shaft of the wrench at various elevations from the ground. However, such a support tool was apparently found unsatisfactory in that support was provided only in the vertical direction. When torquing the lever of the wrench, the wrench is jerked from side to side and up and down and such a ground supported tool member is incapable of providing adequate support.